"I believe that we have attracted a rising star early in his career, and he will assume the post of music director at about the same age as Ormandy and Muti," said Worley. "And I believe that continuity is important to building audiences. It is certainly my hope that he will lead this orchestra for a very, very long period of time - I hope a decade or more."
The offer to the boyish, aerobic conductor - whose name is pronounced Yah-NEEK Neh-ZAY Say-GUN, but is commonly shorthanded to YNS - came after only two visits to Verizon Hall, in 2008 and 2009.
Opinions vary, as they do on most conductors, but Nézet-Séguin is considered something of a catch, and has been hailed as an important starter by even fastidious critics.
"Although he is not as flamboyant as the Venezuelan Gustavo Dudamel, the pair are increasingly mentioned in the same breath as leaders of their generation," wrote London critic Norman Lebrecht for Bloomberg recently.
The new partnership aims to satisfy critical objectives for both parties:
The orchestra captures a winsome, energetic chief and renewed institutional energy after a four-year search dogged by flagging ticket sales; and Nézet-Séguin wins a top job in a first-rank ensemble, which, despite his many prestigious guest appearances, he has not yet landed.
But the move does not come without risk.
What's not clear is whether the young conductor carries enough authority to manage backstage duties such as prickly personnel matters, or whether he has an ear for the ensemble-building workouts required to maintain quality.
Also unknown is whether he will cultivate the orchestra's blended, string-rich personality.
